mikepas.org

Thanks to the recent arrival of my new external hard drive I'm all set to start backing up some files, restoring some files, and setting up to finally installing my OEM copy of Windows 7 (I'm still running the last RC version).  That's the plan I have for the day after Thanksgiving.  I'll also be downloading various drivers and updated software packages to make sure I can get everything back up and running after the install.  It would not be cool if I couldn't get my HDTV tuner working again, would it?  I'll also take the time to look through previous "backup" folders on my older external hard drive to see what needs to be saved, what can be deleted, and if I have any duplicates of files.

I usually recommend that most users do a wipe of their primary hard drive at least once a year and twice a year if you're a power user like me.  Windows has always had a history of becoming bloated over time as programs are installed or removed and after almost six months with the RC version of Windows 7 I've noticed it's maintained that not-so-proud tradition.

Something else I've been considering has been getting a second copy of Windows 7 to either install on the Macbook via Boot Camp or as a virtual OS via either VM Ware of Parallels within Mac OS 10.6.  The beauty of using either virtual environment is that I can start out doing the install via Boot Camp and if I later want to import that install into a virtual machine.  I just need to research how the activation routine handles that with Windows 7.